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On Saturday 6th October 2007 the Ringing Centre was pleased to act as host to the Central Council Ringing Centres Committee Northern Area Seminar. This is the first of a series of seminars to be held around the country for people who are interested in the Ringing Centres movement, and who may be interested in setting one up.
The seminar was led by Gail Cater (Settle Ringing Centre) who is Chairman of the Ringing Centres Committee, assisted in the presentational team by +Barry Peachey and Heather Peachey in their joint capacities as members of the committee and local Ringing Centre team members. We also had the help of Bob Cater (Settle) who had done the administrative work, and Pat Donnelly who produced the vital refreshments for us.
Attending the Seminar were interested parties from Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. In addition we were especially pleased to welcome Tony Furnivall who is Tower Captain of Trinity Church, Manhattan, New York City. He had come by far the longest distance to be with us, and was very interested in experiences here which might be put to good use in New York. Tony gave us a brief account of the current situation at Trinity Church, where his wife is Vicar, and where a new band is in the process of being trained. In less than a year they have a band that can Plain Hunt the new 12 bells.
After a general introduction from Heather Peachey, Gail Cater gave a presentation on the establishment of the Settle Ringing Centre. By contrast +Barry then spoke about the Barrow Centre and the Barrow & District Society. It is one of the features of the Ringing Centres movement that one size does not fit all, and there are a variety of different successful Ringing Centre models in operation around the country. Some were run by territorial associations, some were independently operated, and one at least is commercially operated. How a centre operates depends on local needs, and on the driving force behind it.
These presentations preceded an interesting and wide-ranging discussion. Ian Till (Messingham) told the seminar about the excellent project of the Lincoln Diocesan Guild in obtaining and operating a Mobile Simulator which has been taken to various events around the Guild area. This had led to the recruitment of a substantial number of ringers. Although not known as such, this is the sort of project that could be constituted as a Mobile Ringing Centre.
John Atkinson who is Tower Captain of Beverley (St Mary) in the Beverley & District Society expressed his interest in the possible formation of a Ringing Centre at his tower. He said that although there was local Society teaching he felt that there was a need for a concentrated effort to teach at a recognised standard of competence and efficiency to supplement the good teaching that was already in place in the local area.
Elizabeth Beardsley (Daybrook), a Branch Training Officer in the Southwell Diocesan Guild said that their Guild had discussed the question of Ringing Centres, but had not arrived at any firm conclusions about the way forward. She was hopeful that this seminar would provide them with some more information about what might be possible.
At the conclusion of the discussions the assembled company went up the tower to have a ring on the new bells, and to meet a couple of Ringing Centre students of recent years, Jenny Murch, and Pat Donnelly, and the Barrow Deputy Master Paul Wilkinson. All of them had the pleasure of ringing Bob Caters with Robert ('Bob') Cater!
The consensus seemed to be that this was a worthwhile exercise and exchange of information and views about what is being done and what might be possible in various parts of the northern area.
Gail Cater, Chairman, CCCBR Ringing Centres Commmittee